Drum-like musical instruments with electrical pickups and circuitry

ABSTRACT

Musical instruments for electrically producing diverse drumlike sounds which include a rigid frame, a vibratable diaphragm carried by the frame, one or more metal foils on the diaphragm, and one or more variable reluctance pickup cartridges on the frame. A tom-tom is provided with a bridge and reverberation strings, and a snare is provided with a damping arm. A transportable cabinet with amplifiers, tone controls, and a speaker is provided for the tom-toms, snare, and other drumlike instruments.

United States Patent 72] Inventors Richard L. Dominguez 7628 W. MitchellDrive, Phoenix, 85033; Samuel GJI. Peake, 6231 N. 59th Ave., Glendale,Ariz. 85301 [21 Appl. No. 689,495 [22] Filed Dec. 11,1967 [45] PatentedJan. 5, 1971 [54] DRUM-LIKE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH ELECTRICAL PICKUPSAND CIRCUITRY 5 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 84/l.l5 [51] Int. Cl. ....Gl0d 13/02 [50} Field ofSearch84/1, 2, 3,

104,41 1,412,415,462, 1.15, 1.24, 1.27,G, K, MR; 84/l.0l, 1.03, 1.04,1.14, 1.16

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,495,451 l/1950 Gladstone84/411 2,900,453 8/1959 Cammack 84/411X 3,178,501 4/1965 Evans 84/1.14

3,192,304 6/1965 RiZZutti 84/1.16

3,207,835 9/1965 I-lolman et a1. 84/103 3,509,264 4/1970 Green 84/1 l 5FOREIGN PATENTS 922,777 2/1947 France 84/1 15 Primary ExaminerW. E. RayAttorney-Drumrnond, Cahill and Phillips ABSTRACT: Musical instrumentsfor electrically producing diverse drumlike sounds which include a rigidframe, a vibratable diaphragm carried by the frame, one or more metalfoils on the diaphragm, and one or more variable reluctance pickupcartridges on the frame. A tom-tom is provided with a bridge andreverberation strings, and a snare is provided with a damping arm. Atransportable cabinet with amplifiers, tone controls, and a speaker isprovided for the tom-toms, snare, and other drumlike instruments.

PATENTED JAN 5 I97! SHEET 1 BF 4 INVENTORS. RICHARD L. DOMINGUEZ SAMUELG. H. PEAKE BY ATTORNEYS PATENTEU JAN 5|97l 3553339 sum 2 OF 4INVENTORS. RICHARD L. DOMINGUEZ S(AMUEL G. H. PEAKE ATTORNEYS PATENTEUJAN 5 I971 SHEET 3 OF 4 on UE NGK Wm M m H z, D n U M WA ATTORNEYSPATENTEU JAN 51971 SHEET a UF Q INVENTORS. RICHARD L. DOMINGUEZ SAMUELG. H. PEAKE ATTORNEYS tration;

DRUM-LIKE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH ELECTRICAL PICKUPS AND CIRCUITRY 3This invention relates to a novel musical instrument.

' More specifically, the invention concerns a novel percussion musicalinstrument which produces a drumlike sound which is electricallyamplified and transmitted to the listener.

' In still another respect, the invention relates to a novel combination of devices which perform the function of a set of socalledtraps, but which is much more compact and more easily stored andtransported than conventional traps.

musical instruments which,'in'combination, perform all of the functionsof a set of traps. g

In musical organizations such as dance bands, it is common for a singleperformer to play all'of the percussion instruments. These instrumentsare easily arranged in an array of snare drums, tom-toms, bass drum,cymbals, etc, collectively known as a set of traps. The trapsareordinarily quite cumbersome, difficult to store and transport,require a substantial 1 amount of time to assemble in proper operativerelationship prior toperformance, and require additional time and effortto disassemble after each performance for further transportation andstorage.

Commonly and typically a trap set will include at least one snare drum,oneor more toms, at least one base drum and a cymbal. Thebase drum maybe several feet in diameter and the toms and snares, while 'beingsmaller in diameter, are

nevertheless of sufficient thickness to require substantial space. Thecymbal is usually disposed on a vertical stand which must be collapsedfor storage and transportation. All of the elements of the common priorart trap set are arranged and usually interconnected by means ofbrackets and stands to form a rathercomplicated assembly which usuallyrequires a considerable amount of time prior to and after a performancetoassemble and disassemble.

It would be highly advantageous to provide apparatus of smaller physicaldimensions for duplicating the drum and percussion sounds of a commontrap set and which would be L more easily stored, transported, assembledand disassembled.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to providesimplified apparatusfor duplicating the drum and percussion sounds of acommon trap set.

Another object of the invention is to provide individual assemblies forreproducing snare, tom and bass drum sounds but which are of reducedphysical dimensions.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means for producingand electrically amplifying and transmitting drum porting, assemblingand disassembling the prior art traps.

' These and other, further and more specific objects. and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of the invention taken in conjunc- I tion with the drawings,in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a torn drum embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lower portion of the torn drum ofFIG. I with the cover removed for purposes of illus- FIG. 3 is aperspective view of thelower side of the cover portion of the torn drumof FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the torn drum of FIGS. 1-3

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the snare drum of FIGS. 5--7 taken alongsection line 8-8 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the assembly of components illustratedin FIGS. 1-8 to form an easily portable and readily assemblable set oftraps;

FIG. 11 is a cross section of the trap set assembly of FIG. 9 takenalong section line 10-l0 thereof;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the trap set of FIGS. 9 and 10 indisassembled condition ready for transportation and storage withportions of the containers broken away for clarity of illustration; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic electrical circuitillustrating the apparatus andmethod of introducing, amplifying and trans-' mitting the sound producedby my novel instrument.

Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of my invention, we provide anovel drumlike musical instrument comprising a substantially rigidframe, vibratable diaphragm means forming a drum head carried by theframe, and signal generating means integral with the instrument forgenerating an electrical signal in response to vibration of thediaphragm means.

In a preferred embodiment, the signal generating'means I comprise aferromagnetic member and a variable reluctance change of the distancebetween the members, thereby generating an electrical signal.

To produce the tom-tom sound, we provide tension strings stretchedacross and carried by the rigid frame beneath the diaphragm and bridgemeans which mechanically intercouple the tension strings and thediaphragm, thereby to induce sympathetic vibrations in the tensionstring in response to vibration of the diaphragm. These sympatheticvibrations enhance the reverberation effect, providing harmonics of thebasic frequency of vibration of the diaphragm to produce the desiredtone sound.

The drums embodying the principles of my invention are desirablyprovided with means for adjustably damping the vibration of thediaphragm to provide varied tonal qualities. In this way, the performercan achieve different tonal qualities for each of the several drumscomprising the trap set to provide the desired overall balance of drumand percussion sounds.

The signal generating means are preferably provided with means foradjustably controlling the amplitude of the electrical signal, therebyenabling the performer to adjust the volume of each of the drums toachieve the desired overall aural effect and providing for variations inthe overall aural effect which are not practically obtainable fromcommon prior art trap sets.

Turning now to the drawings, which in conjunction with the followingdescription will enable those skilled in the art to understand andpractice the invention and the preferred embodiments thereof, each ofthe reference characters denotes similar parts in the respective views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tom-torn drum embodying the presentinvention and depicts a circularly shaped rigid frame 10 and avibratable diaphragm member 11 carried by the frame 10. The diaphragmmember 11 can be fabricated of any suitable material; for example,various plastics and treated papers may be employed in accordance withart-recognized techniques for manufacturing normal drum heads. In apreferred embodiment of my invention, we employ the diaphragm head headsnormally used in practice drum pads, for example, those commerciallyavailable under the trade name Weather King manufactured by Remo, Inc.The diaphragm 11 is affixed to the frame and stretched to produce therequired tension by means of threaded adjusting screws 12.

FIG. 2 illustrates the drum apparatus of FIG. 1 with the diaphragmmember 11 and the tensioning frame removed to expose the base framemember 13 provided with threaded holes 14 which receive the adjustingand tensioning screws 12. A series of slots 15 are provided in the rim16 of the base frame 13. These slots register with reverberation tensionstrings 17 carried in the tensioning frame 10 of the head portion. Thebase member 13 is provided with an aperture 18 which prevents theassembly from being airtight which would interfere with the operation ofthe drum due to air pressure variations when the drum head is vibrated.The variable reluctance pickup cartridge 19 is mounted within andaffixed to the base member 13, and the electrical leads 20 pass from thecartridge 19 through an aperture 21 in the base member 13.

Turning to FIG. 3, the diaphragm 11 is stretched over a tensioning framelO which also carries reverberation tension strings l7 stretched acrossthe frame 10 beneath the diaphragm 11. The tension strings aremechanically intercoupled with the diaphragm means of a suitable bridgemember -22 which transmits vibrations from the diaphragm 11 to thestrings 17, thereby improving the harmonic content of the sound producedwhen the diaphragm 11 is vibrated. A ferromagnetic member 23, in thiscase a thin piece of metal foil, is glued directly to the bottom side ofthe diaphragm l1 and is positioned upon the diaphragm proximate to thevariable reluctance cartridge when the head and base members of FIGS. 2and 3 are assembled. The tension of the strings is adjusted by means ofknurled screws 24 carried by the tensioning frame 10.

FIG. 4 depicts the drum assembly of FIGS. 1--3 in cross section andshows the operative relationship of the various elements described abovein connection with the description of FIGS. l--3.

The drum assembly of FIGS. 14 is employed in the practice of myinvention as a substitute for the tom-tom drums found in the typicaltraps of the prior art and as a substitute for the bass drum of theprior art trap set, as will appear more fully later.

The snare drum which we provide in the practice of our invention isdepicted in FIGS. 5-8 and'has the capability of providing both snare andtom sounds by appropriate adjustment of the controls.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the combination snare-tom drum andincludes a rigid frame 31 provided with tensioning screws 32 which affixa tensioning frame 33 holding a vibratable diaphragm 34. v FIG. 6illustrates the drum of FIG. 5 with the head assembly removed. The rigidframe 31 is provided with a positioning bracket 35. The bottom of theframe 31 is provided with a large screen-covered hole 36 to reduce airpressure fluctuations within the drum. A mounting bracket 37 affixed tothe rim 38 of the hole 36 carries a first variable reluctance pickupcartridge 39. A second mounting bracket 41 carries a second variablereluctance pickup cartridge 42. A damping arm 40 controlled by anadjusting screw 45 is mounted inside the enclosure of the frame 31 andis adapted to damp the vibrations of the diaphragm 34 to adjust the toneof the drum.

FIG. 7 depicts the head of the drum assembly of FIG. 5 and shows thetensioning frame 33, the diaphragm 34 and two ferromagnetic members 44and 45. The first ferromagnetic member 44 isin the form of an upstandingcircular portion 46 turn, are secured to the diaphragm 34 by felt pads48 glued to the diaphragm 34. The second ferromagnetic member 45 is apiece of bent foil secured directly to the diaphragm 34 in the mannerpreviously illustrated in'connection with the drum of FIGS. l4. Thefirst ferromagnetic member 44 registers with the first variablereluctance pickup cartridge 39, and the second ferromagnetic member 45registers with the second variable reluctance pickup cartridge 42 whenthe head assembly of FIG. 7 is assembled with the base assembly of FIG.6. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled components of FIGS.5--7. The pickup 39 and ferromagnetic member 44 produce an electricalsignal which duplicates the normal snare sound, and the pickup 42 andferromagnetic member 45 produce an electrical signal which duplicates atorn sound. These sounds can be mixed or selected separately by means ofelectrical controls as will be described below.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the drums of FIGS. 1-8 mounted in playingposition in a cabinet structure which serves the dual purpose ofsupporting the drums during playing and which also provides receptaclesfor providing transporting and storage of the drums when not in use. Abase cabinet 51 encloses an electronic amplifier 52, a suitable speakersystem 53 which plays through an opening 54 covered with speaker cloth55. The bass drum unit 56 is mounted in the rear side 57 of the basecabinet 51 at a height above the floor level where itcan be struck bythe foot-pedal-operated mallet 58. The upper cabinet 61 is provided withopenings 62' which receive and support a plurality of tom drums 63. Thesnare drum 64 is supported by means of a mounting bracket 65 attached tothe drum bracket 35. The upper cabinet 61 is provided with vent holes 66to equalize the air pressure on either side of the drum diaphragm. Therear edge 67 of the upper cabinet 61 is inclined and provides mountingpanels 68 for the electrical switches and tone and volume controls foreach of the drums I and the amplifier. The top 69 of the upper cabinet61 is hinged at its rear edge 71 and is provided with a height adjustingscrew 72 such that the operator can vary the inclination of the top toobtain the desired angle of the .drum playing surface according to hispreference.

The assembly of FIGS. 9 and 10 can be disassembled and stored ortransported in two suitcaselike enclosures as shown in FIG. 11. The basecabinet 51, which contains the bass drum, amplifier and speaker, isprovided with a carrying strap or handle 74 and can be stored ortransported as a single unit. The upper cabinet 61 slides inside asuitcaselike enclosure 75 provided with a carrying handle 76. The secondsuitcase may also contain provision for storage and transportation ofother elements of trap sets such as cymbals, the bass drum foot pedal,etc. For example, cymbal 77 may be secured to the inside of the secondsuitcase 75 by means of a suitable wing nut 78 as indicated by thedashed lines. FIG. 12 is a schematic circuit diagram in partial blockfor showing a representative circuit which may be employed in the systemof the present invention. A plurality of pickup coils 8186 are utilizedto detect and translate the varying reluctance generated in the pickupsto corresponding alternating electrical signals. Pickup coils 81, 82 and83 are utilized to detect the vibrations of the toms while pickup 84 isused to detect the vibrations of the bass. Pickups 85 and 86 aresimilarly utilized to detect vibrations of the snare with pickup 85provided for the of the snare sound while the pickup 86 is usedfor thedetection of the torn sound. Each of the pickups is connected throughseries-connected switches 9196 to preamplifiers l01106. A tone control107 is provided to receive the output of each of the preamplifiers toenable the tonal quality of the representing electrical signal to bealtered to thereby permit the operator to select atone for the connectedinstrument to suit his tastes. A control is provided for each of theinput conductors such that each of the pickup devices, and thereforeeach of the drums, is provided with a tone control. The outputs of thetone control pass through a variable attenuating resistor 111-116 andare ultimately connected to amplifier 120. The amplifier 120 isconnected directly to the coil 121 of the speaker 125. It may be notedthat the coil is connected in series with an attenuating resistor 126(also variable) to provide volume control. The operation of the circuitof FIG. 12 is manifest and it may be seen that any one or combination ofdrums may be connected to the output amplifier 120 by closing thecorresponding switch. Further, the snare drum may have either or boththe snare sound and tom sound connected to the output amplifier 120. inthose instances where more than one drum is connected through itspreamplifier to the output amplifier 120, relative signal levels may beadjusted by adjusting the attenuating resistors Ill-116 connected inseries therewith. The overall loudness or volume is readily adjusted bythe attenuating resistor 126. In this manner, any combination of drumsand drum sounds may be achieved by simply selecting the appropriateswitches and setting the corresponding attenuating resistors to thedesired position.

Various changes and modifications of the invention can be made and, tothe extent that such variations incorporate the spirit of thisinvention, they are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims.

We claim:

1. A drumlike musical instrument comprising:

a. a substantially rigid frame;

b. vibratable diaphragm means forming a drum head carried by said frame;and

c. signal generating means spaced from said drum head integral with saidinstrument for generating an electrical signal in response to vibrationof said diaphragm means, said generating means comprising aferromagnetic member, a variable reluctance pickup member for generatingan electrical signal in response to the time rate of change of distancebetween said ferromagnetic member and said pickup member, one of saidmembers being carried by said diaphragm means and vibratable therewith,and the other of said members being carried by said frame.

2. Instrument of claim 1 which includes: a. tension strings stretchedacross and carried by said rigid frame beneath said diaphragm means; andb. bridge means mechanically intercoupling said snare strings and saiddiaphragm means.

3. Instrument of claim 1 which includes means for adjustably damping thevibration of said diaphragm means.

4. A drumlike musical instrument comprising:v

a. a substantially rigid frame;

b. vibratable diaphragm means forming a drum head carried by said frame;

c. signal generating means integral with said instrument including; aferromagnetic member carried by said diaphragm means and vibratabletherewith, and a variable reluctance pickup member for generating anelectrical signal in response to the time rate of change of distancebetween said ferromagnetic member and said pickup member when saidferromagnetic member vibrates with said diaphragm means;

d. means for adjustably damping the vibration of said diaphragm means;

e. means for adjustably controlling the amplitude of said electricalsignal from said variable reluctance pickup member; and

f. amplifier-speaker means for amplifying said controlled signal andaurally transmitting said amplified signal to a listener.

5. A drumlike musical instrument comprising:

a. a substantially rigid frame;

b. vibratable diaphragm means forming a drum head carried by said frame;

c. signal generating means integral with said instrument including;

a ferromagnetic member carried by said diaphragm means and vibratabletherewith' and a variable reluctance pickup member for generating anelectrical signal in response to the time rate of change of distancebetween said ferromagnetic member and said pickup member when saidferromagnetic member vibrates with said diaphragm means;

d. tension strings stretched across and carried by said rigid framebeneath said diaphragm means;

e. bridge means mechanically intercoupling said tension strings and saiddiaphragm means; i

f. means for adjustably controlling the amplitude of said electricalsignal from said variable reluctance pickup member; and

g. amplifier-speaker means for amplifying said controlled signal andaurally transmitting said amplified signal to a listener.

1. A drumlike musical instrument comprising: a. a substantially rigidframe; b. vibratable diaphragm means forming a drum head carried by saidframe; and c. signal generating means spaced from said drum headintegral with said instrument for generating an electrical signal inresponse to vibration of said diaphragm means, said generating meanscomprising a ferromagnetic member, a variable reluctance pickup memberfor generating an electrical signal in response to the time rate ofchange of distance between said ferromagnetic member and said pickupmember, one of said members being carried by said diaphragm means andvibratable therewith, and the other of said members being carried bysaid frame.
 2. Instrument of claim 1 which includes: a. tension stringsstretched across and carried by said rigid frame beneath said diaphragmmeans; and b. bridge means mechanically intercoupling said snare stringsand said diaphragm means.
 3. Instrument of claim 1 which includes meansfor adjustably damping the vibration of said diaphragM means.
 4. Adrumlike musical instrument comprising: a. a substantially rigid frame;b. vibratable diaphragm means forming a drum head carried by said frame;c. signal generating means integral with said instrument including; aferromagnetic member carried by said diaphragm means and vibratabletherewith, and a variable reluctance pickup member for generating anelectrical signal in response to the time rate of change of distancebetween said ferromagnetic member and said pickup member when saidferromagnetic member vibrates with said diaphragm means; d. means foradjustably damping the vibration of said diaphragm means; e. means foradjustably controlling the amplitude of said electrical signal from saidvariable reluctance pickup member; and f. amplifier-speaker means foramplifying said controlled signal and aurally transmitting saidamplified signal to a listener.
 5. A drumlike musical instrumentcomprising: a. a substantially rigid frame; b. vibratable diaphragmmeans forming a drum head carried by said frame; c. signal generatingmeans integral with said instrument including; a ferromagnetic membercarried by said diaphragm means and vibratable therewith; and a variablereluctance pickup member for generating an electrical signal in responseto the time rate of change of distance between said ferromagnetic memberand said pickup member when said ferromagnetic member vibrates with saiddiaphragm means; d. tension strings stretched across and carried by saidrigid frame beneath said diaphragm means; e. bridge means mechanicallyintercoupling said tension strings and said diaphragm means; f. meansfor adjustably controlling the amplitude of said electrical signal fromsaid variable reluctance pickup member; and g. amplifier-speaker meansfor amplifying said controlled signal and aurally transmitting saidamplified signal to a listener.